I was sold an iPad mini in 2019 on eBay and it’s went activation lock after 4 years can I report this to eBay?
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iPad EBay iPad
- Thread starter gadget123
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From eBay: The latest date for the buyer to request a return is 30 calendar days after the estimated or actual delivery date or 7 calendar days after the event date, whichever is later. Up to 180 days for Paypal dispute.
Question for you - did it work before or is this the first time you are turning it on?
Question for you - did it work before or is this the first time you are turning it on?
Yes it worked for 4 years I googled it and seems many iPads suddenly stop working and little can be done. Maybe bad idea of buy from eBay.
In fairness, even Apple won't touch this unless you have AppleCare. Having said that, you can definitely go to an Apple store, show your eBay history/receipt and see if they can unlock it. Worth a try IMO.
I’m just curious how this happens. Clearly it had to be unlocked if you attached it to your Apple ID. You didn’t use it with some random account the iPad was already signed into?
One would think that once it’s locked to a specific Apple ID, then it would be attached to that. Meaning if you signed into your Apple ID on that iPad as the main and only user, then it’s locked to your account. Maybe if you forgot your password, you could be locked out of it.
One would think that once it’s locked to a specific Apple ID, then it would be attached to that. Meaning if you signed into your Apple ID on that iPad as the main and only user, then it’s locked to your account. Maybe if you forgot your password, you could be locked out of it.
Yes it was brand new when I got it but I am guessing it was repackaged. It’s my partners so in the end she went with a new iPad mini from a store.
I purchased an iPad last year and would likely have experienced a similar issue had I not spotted it.
In my case, the device was listed as in great condition and hardly used.
When it arrived, the iPad was in sleep mode rather than being powered off. After pressing the sleep/wake button, the following screen was displayed with a message to ‘Finish Setting Up iPad’-
My first thought was to connect the iPad to my Mac and check the battery cycle count. It was essentially brand new.
Despite that, I decided to erase all content and settings to be on the safe side. While going through that procedure, I came across the following remote management screens-
Presumably if I'd completed the original setup process, I wouldn't have known about the remote management.
I’d already been suspicious because the seller had listed two other iPad Pros on the same weekend that I bought mine. The prices were also very good.
At first, I wondered if there was only one iPad Pro, but the serial numbers shown on the photographs checked out (at least two of the devices were registered on the same date). They’d also sold another iPad Pro a couple of weeks earlier, although no feedback had been left for that.
The seller had excellent feedback and there was recent activity, so no reason to think that their account had been hacked. I decided to purchase making sure that I was covered by eBay’s money-back guarantee.
Because of my suspicions, I decided to contact the institution shown on the remote management screen rather than the seller. I asked them whether it was a legitimate purchase. It turned out to be stolen.
I think the OP should try contacting the seller first, assuming they're still registered with eBay. If not, then I would still contact eBay as it's possible that other people have had issues with this seller. Tip - to actually speak to someone at eBay, go through the help procedure as if you're reporting a hacked account.
I doubt that Apple will be able to do anything because the OP doesn't have proof of purchase from either them or another retailer. It's possible that they will be able to identify whether the device has been marked as stolen.
If the OP suspects that the device is stolen, then they should contact the Police.
Given the timescale, I suspect the device was loaned to somebody prior to being sold on eBay, and because it has not been returned, the lender has deactivated it.
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It sounds like you got a stolen company or school iPad.
This was exactly my point that you should not use someone’s account on an Apple device. Always wipe and set it up as new with your own Apple account. If you’re using someone else’s account then they could lock it or maybe even access what you’re doing on it.
It was an employee in my case. Easy to trace despite the organisation, understandably, not disclosing anything.
They weren’t aware of what was happening, but I’m sure they would have realised eventually. At least it stopped anyone else from falling under suspicion.
Yes, you would hope that most people on here would reset a used device, but I’m sure we all know people who wouldn’t. I do wonder if there are any more sophisticated ways to conceal that a device is under the remote management of someone else.
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